


Properly Introduced

by coplins



Series: Packrunners [42]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Disabled Character, Friends to Lovers, Knotting, M/M, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Pack Dynamics, Romantic Fluff, Scents & Smells
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-10-09 23:50:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20518487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coplins/pseuds/coplins
Summary: Raphael had a kitty crush on Dick that carried over after he presented but that was promptly subdued when Raphael accepted that Dick was taken and not a Packrunner. Since the pack date all that was turned on its head and now he's struggling to make a move. How do you make a move on one of your best friends? Technically, Raphael knows. But in practice? It's not really working out.





	Properly Introduced

**Author's Note:**

> I'm juggling several wips and a new full-time job so I can't give you several installments weekly. But there is stuff lined up. :)  
My Beta told me "I feel like this is the most wholesome fluffy thing you've ever written, and I can't believe it is actually you who wrote it." It made me laugh. But I think I needed something fluffy and healthy after all the misery that was Marlon's story.

* * *

Raphael had asked Dick during the pack date, if he was welcome to court Dick for a mateship. Actually taking the step from platonic to romantic is so much harder. Despite that Dick stopped hanging out with them in private shortly after he started working for them, they often had lunch together, travelled together on business trips, and spent a lot of time together at work. He remembers that fateful office party that stirred up so much drama on the date. He’d been pestering Mike with questions like ‘Do you think I have a chance with him?’, ‘What if he’s uncomfortable with my advances?’ and Mike had encouraged him. Raff worked up his courage, went over a mental checklist about everything he knew about how to court an Omega (which wasn’t much, at the time), and headed for Dick only to see his uncle beat him to it. Watching Aiden and Dick dance there was no denying there was something going on between them so Raff declared himself defeated and withdrew so he could be alone long enough to feel sorry for himself before his big brothers got a whiff of his sadness and started coddling him. He hated how overprotective they were of him. It made him feel like a burden.

That’s always been a problem for him. They _said_ he was as good as any of them yet they’d rush to help him for the tiniest thing. So Raphael over-compensated. He spent more hours studying, working out, practising martial art, you name it. Father and uncle Aiden rarely coddled him in the same way his brothers did. They coached him to handle things himself. When they _did_ help him, they did so brutally and without remorse. A kit at school who kept bullying him despite the principal and parents getting involved made Father bring his family into destitution within two months. It happened twice. As Billie Reaper, his best friend since college expressed it: ‘What did you expect, praying to a god for help?’ Billie doesn’t actually think Marlon Williams is a god, but she’s got a good grasp of the power he can wield, coming from a family that both owns a business and is in politics.

When Raff was young he wanted to become a doctor. He doesn’t like violence and had no interest in the family business. He wanted to help people. Heal them. Father had been encouraging but repeatedly through the years asked ‘Are you _sure_?’ But in his late Juvies Raff had overheard Father and uncle Aiden have an argument/discussion late at night when he was supposed to be asleep.

“_This is all your fault, Aide! You’ve infected him with your mushy heart. I was hoping it was a phase and he’d grow out of it, but no._”

“_Tssk. He’s got that need to fix things from you. So what if he doesn’t want to be part of the pack business? We could start recruiting new pack members._”

“_No. I’m not letting a bunch of strangers infringe on our home again. Our boys will outlive us and they can decide on bringing in new people._”

“_I could tell him he has a duty towards the pack and that we need him in our business._”

“_Out of the question. I did not make the sacrifices I made so my kits could grow up to become miserable, stuck in jobs they hate. If he wants to be a doctor then he should. I’m just so darn disappointed_.”

“_We’ll manage, Mar. The other boys are just as smart and hardworking. They’ll just have to pull a little extra weight to make up for the loss of Bunny._”

Raff had been so shocked and horrified that he’d scuttled back to bed, thankfully unnoticed. Not long thereafter he’d announced he wanted to work in the pack business. Father had yet again asked if he was sure. “_I could buy us a hospital and it would still be the pack business._” It’s Father in a nutshell. No small solutions. But Raff had chosen Human Resources instead. He might have become miserable in the job if it wasn’t for the man currently sitting beside him sorting his notes in the empty conference room. These days Raphael likes his job and rarely thinks of the career he dreamed of when he was young.

“Are you alright, dear? You spaced out there for a second,” Dick says and touches Raff’s hand gently.

Raff huffs. “It’s nothing. I got lost on memory lane, that’s all.”

“You’re not worrying about Sam’s lovelife when he goes off to college, are you?” Dick asks with a little smirk.

Raff chuckles and shakes his head. “Hardly. He’s not going to stop loving me just because he’s subjected to the free-spirited love of other unsupervised youths. It’s Luci and Mikey’s job to bemoan the hedonism Sam will be surrounded by.” Dick has a gift for listening. He looks at you in a certain, passive and unjudging way, projecting that he’s actively listening and wants to know more, so Raff goes on. “If I’m honest, part of me wishes he’ll find more people to the pack. I used to daydream about getting to live in a pack as big as it was when Father and uncle grew up. I loved listening to Aiden’s stories. My college experience, as much as it was a mix of good and bad, gave me a taste of what it was like. You should know, considering how you turned your dorm wing into a pseudo-pack. The Alpha house was the same.”

Dick hums. “I suppose. Crowley often told me I did, but I never thought of it as such. I wanted my home to be fraught with as few disturbances as possible and making my boys work as a team helped accomplishing that. With the added bonus of getting easy relief for my Heats,” he adds with a small quirk to his lips.

“In college even I didn’t have a problem getting laid,” Raff says with a nostalgic look on his face. 

“Yes? You never told me much about your lovelife,” Dick prompts.

“My first time with someone outside of the pack was at my third party in the Alpha house. I wasn’t much of a party goer but since I was living there, it was hard to avoid them. All the girls coming onto me made me uncomfortable so mostly I’d lock myself in my room. But sometimes I’d venture out and it’d end up with me getting far too drunk for my own good as I tried to give myself liquid courage to flirt with someone. Discerning social cues was even harder than otherwise. You know how those parties went. One moment people were talking and the next they were making out with someone else with no courting beforehand. It was hell. The rule seemed to be, ‘if they smell horny they’re up for it’ and that wasn’t in my favour.”

“I had the same problem in reverse. What happened at the third party?”

“I was sitting in one of the couches beside a guy. In the couch opposite two guys were going at it hard with a girl and all three of us were watching them, making remarks. The guy I was sitting next to was tenting his pants. I might not have been able to smell that he was horny but that was a dead giveaway. So I turned towards him, put a hand on his thigh and deep-purred.”

Dick smirks. “It worked out well, I assume?”

“It did. As you can imagine I was scared out of my wits. He said, ‘Hey, man. I’m an Alpha.’ And I, quite boldly, let my hand slide up on the inside of his thigh and said ‘I can’t get it up for females and you’re the most gorgeous person in here.’ Not that he was but flattery gets you far. He blinked at me in confusion and said, ‘How does it feel to take a knot up your ass?’ I answered, ‘Why don’t you tell me in the morning?’ and gripped his erection.”

Dick laughs. “Oh my. I didn’t know you had it in you,” he purrs in amusement.

Raff chuckles. “I don’t. I was waiting for a fist to my face that I figured I’d rightfully deserve. Especially since he flared and did a half-drop of fangs. But instead he hooked a hand around my neck to pull me in to suck on my ear gland. He must have smelled how anxious I was even if I tried to emulate Luci’s confidence. But when we moved upstairs to my room I realised he was as anxious as I was. He stood there, shifting and fiddling with his clothes while I locked the door, and asked me if it would hurt. I told him not if he let me take my time warming him up and I told him I was noseblind so if he changed his mind he’d have to say no or stop. We didn’t have any lube but when uncle Aiden cemented my bond he was very gentle and patient and only used his own secretion to open me up so I knew how to do it properly.” It had felt damned good to be the coddling one for a change. “I’m still surprised that the scent of my anxiety didn’t put him off when I came onto him but when I realised he was nervous my confidence turned real.”

“We’re all nervous and fearful of rejection, dear. Often enough, the scent of anxiety when someone comes onto us can be endearing when combined with outward confidence since it alerts us that our suitor doesn’t take our ‘yes’ for granted even if they act like it. Plus, decisive confidence is quite appealing. ”

“I was acting presumptuous, groping him. Entitlement only appears to be something attractive to someone who returns the interest. Personally, I think he should have decked me,” Raff responds with a little smirk. “How are you holding up? You’ve seemed a bit tense today.”

“I suppose I am. I’ve got a bit of a headache.” He pauses as if considering. “Some days I consider buying a couple of cannisters of the best scent blockers on the market so I don’t have to deal with the extra bullshit having a scent brings. It's harder to adapt than I let on." Dick has his pleasant smile plastered on as usual, relaxed and casual as if he isn’t very bothered at all. 

“Are you still seeing that therapist?”

“I am, and it’s quite helpful. But it’s a bit of a struggle to relearn when you owned your handicap like I did.”

Raff wants to help. He doesn’t really know how but he has an idea. “How about we do a trade? You fly down to Austin to set up the new office there next week and I take care of things over here? At least then you won’t have to interact with people you already know acting differently towards you.”

Dick’s eyes widen minutely in surprise. “Thank you. I’d appreciate it. But weren’t you supposed to meet with the Teyshas for negotiations? I don’t have clearance for that.”

Raff smiles broadly. “You do now, Dick. You’re part of the pack and we trust you fully to keep the pack’s best interest at heart as well as the company’s.”

Dick’s smile freezes for a fraction of a heartbeat before he averts his gaze with a coy smile.

“If you don’t feel ready for it, you don’t have to,” Raff hastens to add, unsure of what the frozen smile meant.

“Oh, no. Don’t worry about it, dear. I’m excited for the opportunity,” Dick says and puts his hand on Raff knee, thumb rubbing gently. “Having a scent isn’t the only thing that’s new for me. Finding my place in the pack, learning who I am now is also part of it. As is learning how you see me. The offer stands in sharp contrast to my first pack, may their souls rest in peace, who kept me in the dark about important matters even after I’d officially joined them.”

Raff leans closer. “Nobody would force a very young convert to mantle a key role in the pack before they’ve settled in properly. But you’re far from being a spring chicken and I know you were present during several work related pack negotiations as Aiden’s assistant.”

"Well. I thank you for the confidence, dearheart." Dick looks at him under hooded eyelids and it's one of _those_ looks. The kind he directs at Mike, Luci, and Father, that makes Raff’s pulse jump and his belly flutter. Dick’s thumb presses the caress of Raphael's knee a little more determined. It's the perfect opportunity to deep-purr.

And yet…

"Can I take you out to lunch?"

Every time.

It's like standing on a high cliff preparing to jump into the ocean below. He knows the water is deep and welcoming below but just when it's time to jump he hesitates.

One would think it should be easier now. They often sleep in the same bed, sometimes just the two of them after having laid talking into the wee hours. They've seen each other naked, and in the throes of passion with other pack members. Their friendship has become ten times stronger and more intimate.

Maybe that's where the problem lies?

It's awkward making a pass at one of your best friends. Someone you've had a crush on long ago and who had been written off as out of reach in accepting defeat. 

So instead, he holds up doors, pulls out chairs, gives more frequent affectionate touches, stands closer and holds eye contact for longer. With other words, he _is_ flirting. Low key, Conservative aristocrat style. Never really making a move. Sam urges him on, enthusiastic about the two of them getting together. Especially after he found out Raff had a kitty crush on Dick. Sam thinks Dick's being unfair towards Raff for playing it subtle. Raff disagrees. Dick's verbalised that he isn't averse to being courted. He's well aware of Raff's limitations so he won't take offense to any missteps related to scent. In fact, Dick's learning that people react to his scent to begin with. He doesn't take that for granted. So he isn't unfair. It's all on Raff that he isn't making a decisive move.

Dean told Sam to lay off it when Sam tried to recruit him to the cheer squad. 'Some people like to slow dance before they sit on a dick and that's okay, Sam,' he'd said. Cue Sam’s bitch-face. (Raff thinks Sam looks insanely hot when Sam bitchfaces someone.)

Raphael is torn. He loves the tension that's building like a rubber band between him and Dick. That tension that gets his heart racing and his breath hitching and a single touch shoot sparks.

But. 

Like now. Raphael took Dick to lunch at a fancy restaurant. The round table for two had been set with them seated opposite each other but over the course of their meal they'd gravitated towards each other and now they're sitting almost side by side, knees touching under the table. For the last 5 minutes they’ve barely broken eye contact and Raff hopes a blush and racing heart doesn’t have a scent since his dark skin hides how his cheeks heat up under that shrewd gaze. They’re both smiling. Dick takes a spoonful of his desert. Raff tracks the spoon to his mouth then watches a pearl of secretion slowly glide down from behind Dick's ear, forming a glistening trail along his throat. It's incredibly sexy even though he can't smell it. He’d like nothing more than to lean in and lick that secretion off Dick’s throat just to see if he can get a gasp out of him.

"Did you not like your dessert, dear?"

Right. Dessert. He'd forgotten all about it. This is what he's talking about. He loves the way tension is building between them but sometimes he kind of really wants to bend Dick over a table and ravage him. But to do that, he needs to jump off that cliff. "I'm afraid that it is completely tasteless," he says. He likes the fluffy, creamy texture but like most things that aren’t drenched in liquor, very sour, or full of hot spices it doesn’t taste much unless he also siphons it. 

"You should have gone with the tiramisu. It has tastes you can pick up even with limitations.” When Dick goes out to get the two of them food he always comes back with things that have strong tastes one way or another. He has Raff’s handicap figured out to the point where he can and will subvert it. “It's a shame, though. Your blackcurrant fromage looks really good," Dick says with a faint smile, looking at Raff’s lips rather than the dessert.

Raff scoops some fromage onto his spoon and leans his arm over Dick's backrest, intensely aware of every point of contact bleeding body-heat between them. "You want to taste some?"

"I'd love to."

Raff slowly moves the spoon towards Dick to show he intends to feed him. Dick leans closer and opens his mouth looking at Raff with a low intensity flare. Dick's canines are sharply pointed, showing he's flirting as well. There’s no other reason to have pointy fangs when eating fromage. When Dick's mouth closes around the spoon he closes his eyes and makes a sound of pleasure without leaning back in his own space. 

It's the perfect time to deep-purr. He's followed every protocol for a perfect courtship.

It's perfect.

Raphael's heart flutters nervously. Now's the time.

"It's opening night of Phantom of the Opera tonight. Would you like to accompany me?"

Dick opens his eyes. His smile looks faintly amused. "I'd love to, dear."

Every. Time!

Raphael thinks that two years down the line they'll still be dancing around each other, going on endless dates getting nowhere. And it's all on him.

* * *

Raphael steps into the apartment to be met by Luci and Mikey hovering in the hallway. They're both flaring looking up to no good. "Dick back from Texas yet?"

"_Mmm_hm," Luci answers with a cryptic smile.

"How did it go?"

"Ask him yourself. He's in the living room," Luci says.

Mike elbows his blond brother. "It went splendid. Father's been purring about it for hours," he tells Raff. Both are looking at him expectantly.

Raphael frowns. "What?"

Both shake their heads too quickly. "Nothing."

They're up to something. He's about to become the butt end of a joke and they're hovering not to miss out on the laugh. He gives them a look of displeasure. "I'll go talk to Dick myself."

"Living room," Luci reminds him.

Raff gives him one last suspicious look before heading for the living room. He doesn't get less suspicious when his brothers trail after him with anticipatory grins.

Marlon's favourite armchair is in the back of the living room overlooking the whole room as well as the doorway. Raff spots his father sitting there looking in his direction. He's leaned back in a relaxed pose but his expression is alert and holds the same anticipation as Mike and Luci’s. Marlon shuts off the TV. It's not a good sign. Raff wonders what Gabe's done this time?

He steps into the room, registers that Sam and Dick's on the couch, draws breath to speak and then... he _smells it_― 

.

.

.

Raphael's brain is making white noise. His eyesight has doubled its usual sharpness while colours are muted―a sign that his pupils have contracted to slits―his fangs are dropping rapidly yet he doesn't feel the usual ache. He's deep-purring mindlessly. His gaze jumps around in urgent confusion. Once before had a scent hit him with the same surprise as a sledgehammer to the back of the head. Almost 7 years ago when Dean's Heat hit at the hotel room in Kansas. Then he'd already been inside of the O in question and it didn't matter that higher function of the brain was short-circuited.

Here, now, it would have been good to have a modicum of cognitive function still at work. His capacity for thinking shrinks to three words. ‘_Mine!_’ and ‘_Need!_’ and ‘_Where?!_’

The whole room is filled by the scent and he can’t compute where it comes from. Luci’s fallen back against the doorpost laughing and Mike’s doubled over. He barely hears it. Sam’s sat looking at him with wide, delighted eyes and an even wider open-mouthed grin. Father’s lips are twitching while his eyes twinkle with mirth but he at least makes a helpful gesture towards the couch.

Raphael’s eyes fall on Dick. 

Dick’s smiling, cheeks rosy, skin covered by a faint sheen of sweat, glands leaking. “Hello, dear. A pleasure to finally get properly introduced,” he says.

It’s Dick.

Dick’s in Heat. 

Mike’s reaction to smelling Dick suddenly makes sense. Raff intensifies his deep-purring. Wait. You have to earn the right to mount an O! Raff turns on his heel and runs out of the room to the kitchen, ignoring Mike’s ‘Where are you going?’. He assembles a plate with an assortment of edibles and hurries back. He flares as brightly as he can, steadily deep-purring he holds out the plate to Dick and imagines exactly what he wants to do to Dick right now. Dick grins. “Thank you, dear, but I’m afraid I couldn’t get another bite down. Your brothers have been very doting.”

Raff blinks in confusion, looks at the two empty plates on the table in front of Sam and Dick and makes a noise of frustration. He puts down the plate and turns on his heel again, growling a threat to Luci and Mike who scamper out of the way with averted faces, sniggering while licking their lips.

“That’s not necessary, dear, I―” he hears Dick say in the background but he’s already set on a target, on his way out of the apartment again. Give the O something he needs so he can mount him. He runs down the stairs and keeps running. Taking the car doesn’t even cross his mind. It probably would have been slower than walking at this time of the day anyway, when everyone is on their way home from work. His mind is set on what he wants to do to Dick and he has an idea for what Dick needs.

Not until he’s run halfway to the store is his brain coming online again enough for him to realise that every date and all the courting he’s done would suffice more than enough and the only thing left to do was to deep-purr and make an actual move. He also realises that the idea he had for what to get Dick might backfire completely with how stupid it is to begin with. Only, Dick has everything he needs already. And hadn’t Dick said that ‘decisive confidence’ is appealing? It’s too late to turn back now. His brothers will die laughing if he returns empty-handed.

He gets to the store just as the shop owner is about to lock the door. “Is Richard Roman one of your regular customers?”

The owner looks up from the lock and jerks in fright, averts his face licking his lips. Raff hadn’t even realised he’s still flaring at full strength with fangs on prominent display. It can’t be helped.

“Y-yes, Sir.”

“Good. I need to buy something for him. You’ll be well compensated for the extra time.”

* * *

When Raff gets back everyone except Dean and Gabe are still in the living room. He doesn’t know where they are and has zero interest in finding out. He’s winded and sweaty from running and started deep-purring as soon as he entered the apartment. This time he’s better prepared for the scent when it hits him in the living room. Dick gets up from the couch and comes around the table to greet him. Raff holds out his gift, thrusts it towards him in a demand of acceptance. Dick looks at it with a bemused smile. “Thank you, dear, but I don’t really need another suit,” he says when he takes it.

Raff growls, reaches out and grabs Dick’s suit jacket and shirt by the buttoning and rips them open so buttons fly everywhere. _Now you do,_ he thinks.

Sam howls in surprise, Luci cackles, Mike covers his mouth with wide eyes and Marlon grins, waiting with suspense for Dick’s reaction. Dick gapes at him in disbelief for a full two seconds. Raff takes a step closer intensifying his deep-purr showing off his fangs. Suddenly Dick scrambles with his belt with every ounce of urgency Raff’s feeling. He drops his pants, turns around and _presents_ with an encouraging half purr half growl.

Raff growls in triumph, unzips, takes a condom from his pocket, puts it on and doesn’t waste a minute before he’s grabbing Dick by the hips to mount him. He pushes in with ease. Dick's in Heat which makes him wet and ready. He's also had sex recently which Raff can smell but tries to ignore while he is this feral or he'd end up chasing his brothers out of the room to be rid of the perceived competition. He thrusts a couple of times, hooks his arm around Dick's chest to pull him up so he can suck on the gland of ambrosia at the base of his neck. Dick keens. In response Raff lets go, grips Dick’s hips firmly to slam it home fast and hard, his lizard brain having ticked off ‘make it good for the O too’. It doesn’t take long until he feels the tingling at the base of his spine meaning he’s about to come. He slows down and roars when he comes. Finally knotted he shifts his jaws leaning forward over Dick’s back and opens his mouth wide to grip Dick’s neck, growling possessively, '_mine_' and '_stay away_', to keep the other Alphas at bay. Dick chirps, purrs and rumbles approvingly, holds a whole conversation in Primal that Raff only gets the gist of but that makes Father laugh. Raff reaches around to give Dick a hand only to discover that Dick's already come. Dick makes another string of Primal sounds Raff isn't quite sure what they mean. Something he wants Raff to stop doing and something about comfort.

"Son, let up your grip on his neck and move to the armchair," Marlon says in clarification when Raphael doesn’t move. 

Raff shifts his jaw unwillingly and waddles them back to the nearest armchair where Luci scuttles out of the way before Raff flops down with Dick on top. The fall backwards is uncoordinated and his knot is nearly pulled out in a jerk before Dick lands on top of him. His panic of hurting Dick is staved off by Dick keening a purr and bracing his heels against the floor to thrust upward, repeatedly almost jerking Raff's knot out. It's on the verge of painful but Raff grits his teeth and lets Dick bump himself to another orgasm. 

Dick sinks down to rest with his neck on Raff's shoulder, purring in contentment.

"You don't like getting your neck bitten?" Raff asks when he remembers how to form words again.

Dick chuckles. "Dear me, but I do. I really do. I wouldn't have asked you to let go if you hadn't decided to claim me standing up in the middle of the living room," he answers with a content smile.

"I told you Raphael is the most Primal of us all," Luci sniggers and goes to sit on the couch beside Sam and Mike, keeping a safe distance from Raff.

"But only when he can smell," Mike adds.

"Not exactly a romantic first time," Sam grins.

Dick tssks. "Sam, dear, Raphael has been nothing but a tease since we went to that pack date. He’s riled me up and left me hanging so many times. Two weeks ago we had someone come in for a meeting stopping by the door to ask if he should come back another time when he smelled how excited and turned on both Raff and I were. And last week I was ready to let me have him right over a restaurant table. I would say that makes for quite a long foreplay heavy with romance.”

“Of course, you could smell me,” Raff mutters and shoves the torn shirt-sides out of the way so he can run his hands over Dick’s lean torso. No wonder Dick kept withholding amusement every time Raff got worked up.

* * *

Dick insists on going to work even while in Heat no matter how Raff coaxes. It doesn’t stop them from slinking out to the hotel opposite the office on their lunchbreak, or from fucking in Raff’s hideaway during downtime, or even once in a supply closet. There is a certain thrill in breaking the rules when you’re the head of HR. But unlike Dean and Luci they manage to not get caught. At home Raff doesn’t let any of his brothers go near Dick. He even growls at Father to stay away despite Marlon not doing anything to imply he had any intention to have sex with Dick.

Sadly, the day comes all too fast that Dick’s Heat fades, taking with it the wonderful scent of joy, arousal, slick and fatigue. Raff isn't very good at discerning what scents mean what emotions but the most basic ones he's learned. Dick has smelled as happy as Raff's felt. He wakes up with only lingering notes of the scent inside his nose much like the remnants of a good dream quickly dissipating from memory. Dick's still sleeping on Raff's chest, a small smile gracing his face even in slumber. Raff feels a pang of regret. Now he'll have to wait a month until he can smell it again. Plus, he's fairly certain that the next time he won't get to monopolize Dick. His brothers will most likely put up a fight, especially when Luci's Rut syncs.

That morning when it’s time to head to work Gabe isn’t up. Raff goes in search of him. Unlike his brothers he has to knock and look inside the rooms to know where he is. He finds him in Sam’s room. He’s laying across the bed at the head end and Sam’s sleeping in the normal direction, using Gabe’s belly as a pillow with a lax grip on Gabe’s dick.

“Mornin’…” Gabe says with a drowsy smile when he Raff pokes his head in.

“Hey, you not coming?”

Gabe shakes his head and pets Sam’s hair gently. “No. Got a bunch of international Skype meetings later tonight. Besides, look at this puppy." He points at Sam. "I can't just remove his emotional comfort dick," he jokes.

Raphael chuckles then bites his lip. "Are you and Dicky mated?" he asks. He could smell that Dick's mated when he could smell him. At least, he thinks a certain note that reminds of his brothers in Dick's scent signifies mating bonds since he knows Dick's mated to both Mike and Luci, but it's not as if he could tell them apart and Luci is the only one he's sure what he smells like since he stopped with the suppressants. 

Gabe chuckles, his belly bouncing and Sam growling in his sleep at the disturbance of his ‘pillow’. “No. And I don’t think we ever will be. I love that shifty, jumped-up hoodlum, but we just can’t seem to get it on,” he says with a grin.

“I had that problem too,” Raff offers.

Gabe sniggers and shakes his head. “Nu-uh. You two have been all lovey-dovey and romantic with each other for the whole world to see. Dick and I? Not for lack of trying. Every time we fool around it just ends with us goofing off instead. We don’t have that spark. Which is fine. The Winchesters are enough to handle as it is. And Sammykin here is an insane horndog who can’t get enough and gets off on our size difference.”

Raff frowns dubiously for a moment, looking at the pair. Then he shrugs. “Sam does like contrasts. He loves the contrast between our skin, so I guess it makes sense.”

“Yup. Sammich likes contrast like Deano likes the divergent so I’m set for life,” Gabe purrs. "So what's up? I would have thought you'd be ecstatic after Dick's Heat but you smell a bit sad."

Raphael's lips curve in self-deprecating amusement. "Not sad. Just lamenting that it'll be another month until I get to smell something that great again."

Gabe grins like he's up to no good. "I wouldn't be so sure. Dean will go into Heat in about a week. And this gargantuan book nerd?" he pets Sam’s chest, making him sleep-purr, "Goes into Heat within hours. _Hours_, Raff. Guess who’s gonna be conveniently around then while you’re all off to work? That’s right. _Me_. So he’s going to be taken but you’ll still be able to smell him.” His grin couldn’t look more smug if he tried.

“They’re not synced?” Raff had been too intent on ‘his’ chosen O to pay attention to the other two Os in the house. But it makes sense he would have smelled them anyway if he could have.

“Nope,” Gabe says popping the P. “All the new mating bonds kept triggering their Heats unevenly.”

* * *

It’s raining so they take the car to work. Mike and Luci both have commitments in other places during the day so Mike and Dean go in one car, Luci in one, while Dick rides with Raff. Traffic is slow moving and Dick sits quiet with a soft upward quirk to his lips looking out of the side window, paying zero attention to the view obstructed by the smattering of rain.

Raphael clears his throat. “I, uh. I hope you didn’t mind my less than stellar manners while you were in Heat.”

Dick withholds a chuckle although the humour is clear in his eyes when he turns his head to look at Raff. He rests his elbow on the edge of the window and strokes his fingers over his chin and lips with that hand. “There was nothing wrong with your manners, dear. You kept me fed and cared for and I’ve literally never seen you do your paperwork as fast as you did then.” He reaches out and puts a hand on Raff’s thigh. “In fact, I got a demonstration of the reason Dean waited six years to go cross country in search of you. I might have too.”

Raphael feels his cheeks heat up and his belly do a happy little flip. He grins and lets go of the steering wheel with one hand to lace their fingers together. 

They remain silent the rest of the way, both lost in their own thoughts with small smiles playing at their lips. After they’ve parked the car and are walking through the garage Raff suddenly stops Dick. Dick turns to face him with eyebrows raised in question.

Despite the days they’ve just shared Raff’s heart starts racing, palm sweating. “Dick, would you consider…” Still. It’s still awkward and hard to get the question out. He takes Dick’s hands in his own, looking down on them to gather confidence before meeting Dick’s gaze again. “Would you like to be my mate?” He holds his breath in wait for the answer.

Dick looks confused for a beat, a small crease appearing between his brows and his smile twitching dubiously. “Darling, we’re a―” He cuts off, face smoothing out and eyes going soft. “Raphael, tell me, can you smell your own mating bonds to Sam and Dean?”

A bit startled by the question, Raff answers, “Not as such. I know my scent has altered and when I siphon them I catch notes of what I know to be me.”

“So, technically, you know you’re mated but can’t separate one bond from another?” Dick probes.

“That’s right.”

“Ah.” Dick relaxes and gives him a warm smile. “I’d love to be your mate, dear,” he says and leans in to place a chaste kiss on Raphael’s lips. Raff’s heart is too big for his chest. 

“Then, would you like to check into the suite in the hotel across the street after work to see if we can coax a bond into being?”

Dick’s eyes twinkle with amusement. “Naturally, dear.”

Raff never imagined there’d come a day he’d be mated to, not one, but three beautiful, smart, wonderful Os who loves each other and his brothers equally. He’d definitely written Dick off as forever out of reach. The whole day he walks around with a silly smile on his lips. In the evening he takes Dick to a nice restaurant before they move to the hotel bar where they first drink then dance until Dick’s all riled up, leaning in to suggest they go to their suite. They make out in the elevator, slow and sensuous. In the suite they continue to take their time, explore each other in the way they couldn’t during Dick’s Heat when everything was need. Afterwards Dick gets out of bed to take something out of his pant-pocket before he comes back to crawl into bed. He kisses Raff on the forehead then lies down on his side next to him, supporting his head in his hand, elbow on the pillow. He’s keeping whatever he went to get hidden in his other hand. “You know, the Progs have a lot of good ideas, so during lunch I took one of those to heart and went out to get us something,” he says cryptically and places a small jewelry box on the mattress between them.

Raff raises his eyebrows in question. “What is it?”

Dick smirks and jerks his chin up encouragingly. “Go on. Open it.”

Raff gives him a quizzical smile before he picks the little box up and flips the lid. Inside there are two beautiful yet simple rings.

“I wasn’t certain what size to buy so if it doesn’t fit, we’ll get it adjusted. Read the inscriptions,” Dick says and bites his lips over a smile, eyes bright.

Raff carefully removes the rings and looks on the insides. The inscription in both rings read ‘_R. Williams x R. Roman_’ followed by the date two days ago. Raff sucks in a breath and looks up at Dick, heart fluttering.

“I didn’t realise you didn’t know, dear. Our mating bond formed during my Heat. When you asked me if I wanted to get mated to you this morning…it was right. Unlike your older brothers, you’ve always done everything right. It’s unfair that you didn’t know. For a moment I considered putting today’s date but then I thought it would be dishonest since everyone else knows the truth already.” Dick takes the rings from Raff, lays one of them back in the little box then takes Raff’s hand and gently puts the remaining ring onto one of Raff’s fingers. He has to wriggle it a bit to get it over the joint but then it slides perfectly into place. He takes the other ring and places it in Raff’s palm, offering up his own hand. Raphael’s breath keeps catching in his throat as he puts the ring on Dick’s finger. It feels like something big, something sacred. Like an ancient ritual newly discovered. “There. Now the whole world can see our love and devotion to each other,” Dick states and interlaces their fingers so the rings click together. 

Dick’s always done this. Known what he needs when he himself doesn’t. Dick’s incredibly good at reading people, foreseeing their needs. It’s what makes him such an expert manipulator. This, though, has no manipulative feel too it at all. Raphael grins so wide his cheeks hurt, chest too full. His eyes sting, overwhelmed by this indescribable huge feeling. 

Dick chuckles. “I know, dear. I know,” he says and leans in to kiss him.

Laughter comes unbidden, bubbling up from Raphael’s core as he tugs Dick close to hold him. He makes a joke, echoing Dick’s own words from the day Raff first smelled him back to him. “It truly is a pleasure that we are finally properly introduced…”

* * *


End file.
